Sunny

Chapter 17

           

Present Day...

When Rhea finally made it down to the kitchen the next day it was to find Eli waiting for her, sipping on a mug of coffee. Part of her had hoped that he would over sleep and the other part of her hoped he would be there, knowing that any time spent with him was a blessing.

She gave him a shy smile and reached for her windbreaker, taking an extra one of the peg and handing it to him. Once they were bundled up, they headed out the back door and towards the beach in silence. She didn't know why she was suddenly shy but she was, at least she was until he reached down and took her hand in his. When he did that her world seemed to right itself and she was suddenly happy.

The sun was just starting to crest over the ocean when they reached the beach and they both sat on the sand, still not having said a word.

"This really is paradise, isn't it?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she cleared her throat, "the island has been in my family for four generations, it was used to grow indigo and rice."

Eli looked at some wild horses further down the beach. "It must have been wonderful growing up here?"

"It was." Rhea smiled missing those carefree days when she would run as wild as the horses.

"Which side of your family did the land come from, your mother has a slight French accent, so I'm guessing it's your father's side."

Rhea nodded. "Don't tell my mother that, she's worked very hard over the years to lose it, but yes, the land belongs to his side.  He did a study abroad program in college and went to Paris, he met mother there. They fell instantly in love."

She could feel Eli's gaze on her. "Are they still in love? That scene with your father yesterday seemed a little tense?"

"Yes, believe it or not they are mad about each other, but they're also a bit like kids in their adoration of each other, they don't live in reality. When mother got pregnant with Aion it was completely unexpected and her pregnancy was very high risk, my father doesn't deal with the unpleasantness of reality very well, he likes to hide in his books, so that's what he did. I thought after Aion was born he would come out of it, but mother didn't bounce back like she should have, she's still not one hundred percent even after all of this time, and he stayed hidden in his books. He doesn't like to see her suffer."

"Which meant that you were left to take care of everything," he assessed.

"Something like that, but mother helps when she feels up to it," she defended.

He must have heard her defensive response because he quickly changed the subject. "Aion, how did he get his name?"

Rhea smiled at his question. "It's a bit weird isn't it?" she laughed. "Father loves Greek mythology, he named us all after the Greek gods."

"Rhea?" He asked.

"She's associated with nature and is the mother of the gods, the mother of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Phoebe was Rhea's sister and was associated with the moon. From them the gods were born."

"And Aion, I don't believe that that is a name I have heard of before." Eli encouraged her to continue.

"Aion is the god of eternity."

"That's rather a fitting name for a son."

"Especially a son you never thought you would have," Rhea agreed.

They lapsed into silence and Rhea once again thought of what it would be like to have a son fathered by Eli, what he would look like, what would they name him?